Halt the tattlingand hail good attitudeswith this simple trick.
Our practice uses Nice-O-Grams as a team-building exercise to focus on the positives instead of the negatives. As a manager, I was beginning to feel like a babysitter because of all of the tattletale behavior. So I offered the team some scrapbook paper squares and a big sealed jar. When team members catch each other doing something good or something they appreciate, they write a small thank you and deposit it in the jar. All submissions are anonymous, and they range from “Mary helped me in the kennel today when she really didn't have to” to “Thank you Joe for holding that scary mean cat for me.”
Once a month we count the Nice-O-Grams, and the person with the most receives a gift-a floral bouquet or a $10 gift card, for example. Then we pass out the Nice-O-Grams to the recipients to brighten their day. It didn't take long before I was no longer hearing tattletale stories. Now our team focuses on the positives and appreciates each other more. And their faces light up when they read the nice things their team members say about them.
Kelley Ferguson
Practice manager
Newman Veterinary Centers
Edgewater, Florida
